All Rules & Proposals articles – Page 59

  • Blog

    Risk Retention Rule Finalized for Asset-Backed Securities

    2015-01-30T15:45:00Z

    Bank regulators, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have jointly issued a final rule that imposes credit risk retention requirements on sponsors of asset-backed securities. The rule requires sponsors to hold at least 5 percent of the ...

  • Blog

    FDIC Refreshes Guidance on High-Risk Customers

    2015-01-29T15:15:00Z

    Gun merchants, strippers, and payday lenders rejoice! The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has signaled an end to its effort to restrict industries deemed as “high risk” from banking access. The FDIC tells banks to take a risk-based approach in assessing individual “customers, rather than declining to provide banking services to ...

  • Blog

    EU Cracking Down on Abuse of Parent-Subsidiary Rules

    2015-01-28T12:30:00Z

    Image: The European Union has amended its parent-subsidiary directive to prevent national tax authorities from granting benefits to a corporation if its tax arrangement is determined to be not reflective of the company’s economic reality. Initially intended to prevent parent corporations from being taxed twice on profits made by subsidiaries ...

  • Article

    OECD Updates Views on Governance

    2015-01-27T15:00:00Z

    The OECD has received an earful about proposed revisions to its principles of corporate governance, guidelines it encourages countries to adopt much the way they already follow its principles for anti-corruption. Some say the revisions dwell too much on company-level reforms, and not enough at the country-level to allow flexible ...

  • Blog

    SEC Speaks on Graphics, Multimedia in Filings

    2015-01-27T13:00:00Z

    The SEC is offering guidance on how companies can use charts, graphics, and even multimedia files in corporate filings to tell your story in fewer words. All well and good, says a new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation from the Division of Corporation Finance. It warns, however, that required information must ...

  • Blog

    Survey: Financial Institutions Stymied by Conduct Risk

    2015-01-26T10:15:00Z

    Financial institutions may talk a lot about “conduct risk,” but few actually approach it with a clear definition and focus. Eighty-one percent of respondents in a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters Accelus say they do not have a working definition of what conduct risk is. A big reason: regulators leave ...

  • Article

    FTC, FDA Take Closer Look at Disclosures

    2015-01-21T12:00:00Z

    The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on companies with questionable advertising disclosures. The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, may allow shorter lists of side effects in drug and medical device ads, even as it prepares tougher standards for how these companies use online advertising and social media. The focus ...

  • Blog

    Treasury Issues Amendments to Cuba Sanctions

    2015-01-16T13:30:00Z

    The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Department of Commerce today published amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to implement policy changes announced by the President last month. The newly revised regulations, in part, allow a number of activities related to telecommunications, financial services, ...

  • Blog

    SEC Adopts Swaps Rules; Piwowar Slams CCO Changes

    2015-01-14T16:00:00Z

    The SEC has adopted new rules that will require security-based swap data repositories to register with the Commission and adhere to new recordkeeping and data transparency requirements. Commissioner Michael Piwowar was a dissenting vote over what he says were last-minute changes intended to crack down on individuals who lie to ...

  • Blog

    Republicans Move on Volcker Rule, XBRL

    2015-01-14T14:00:00Z

    The new Republican majority in Congress launched its first strike against the Dodd-Frank Act last Wednesday, passing a bill that offers banks a semi-reprieve from the Volcker Rule and exempts small companies from filing financial statements tagged in XBRL. The legislation now moves to a Senate vote and is likely ...

  • Blog

    EU Bankers Bristle Against ‘Unjustified’ Proposed Structural Changes

    2015-01-14T12:45:00Z

    Image: Jan. 14—Bankers in the European Union have received support for their continued opposition to the European Commission’s bid to mandate structural changes to the bloc’s biggest banks. The proposal would force some of the biggest banks to stop proprietary trading or split off certain trading activities from deposit-taking activities. ...

  • Blog

    EU Insurance Sector Ramping Up to Meet New Regime

    2015-01-14T12:15:00Z

    Image: Jan. 14—Insurers are finally preparing to meet solvency requirements passed nearly six years ago. Member states have until the end of March to transpose the Solvency II Directive into national law, with insurers starting to seek approval in April for their models used to calculate capital requirements. A recent ...

  • Blog

    MetLife Makes a Federal Case of its SIFI Designation

    2015-01-13T17:15:00Z

    MetLife has filed a lawsuit to undo its designation as a non-bank systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Although CEO Steven Kandarian said the company had hoped to avoid litigation, it marks the first time a too-big-to-fail designation has been challenged before a federal judge.

  • Blog

    SEC Announces 2015 Examination Priorities

    2015-01-13T13:45:00Z

    The SEC has released its examination priorities for 2015. The list includes cyber-security controls and assessing anti-money laundering efforts, with a focus on firms that have not filed suspicious activity reports or have incomplete or late filings. SEC staff will also examine proxy advisory service firms, assessing how they make ...

  • Blog

    White House Unveils New Data Security Efforts

    2015-01-12T14:00:00Z

    On Monday, President Barack Obama proposed several new initiatives intended to enhance data security and combat identity theft. Among the proposals is legislation requiring companies to notify customers within 30 days when their personal information has been exposed, criminalizing the overseas trade in identities, and preventing certain uses of student ...

  • Blog

    Podcast: Casinos Double Down on Anti-Money Laundering Compliance

    2015-01-12T13:00:00Z

    Casinos have traditionally had a less-than-stellar track record when it comes to their anti-money laundering efforts. But now, amid increased scrutiny on AML compliance by regulators, the American Gaming Association has released its first-ever AML best practices guidebook. In our latest podcast, we talk to Fred Curry, a principal in ...

  • Blog

    CFTC Outlines Expectations for New Annual Reports from CCOs

    2015-01-12T11:00:00Z

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently shed more light on the new annual reports that compliance officers at swaps dealers must now provide. The CFTC guidance outlines expectations for assessing a firm’s written policies and procedures, including the code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policies. Shortcomings must be explained in detail, ...

  • Blog

    FTC Chair Warns of Internet of Things Data Privacy Concerns

    2015-01-09T15:30:00Z

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Edith Ramirez took to the floor of the International Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas last week to offer companies a warning about the “Internet of Things” and broadband-connected cars, wearable tech, and home appliances. Connected devices pose significant privacy and security implications, she said, urging ...

  • Blog

    OSHA Begins New Reporting Requirements

    2015-01-07T12:15:00Z

    A reminder from the Department of Labor: As of New Year’s Day, employers have new reporting requirements when a workplace injury occurs. A rule adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires businesses to report work-related fatalities within eight hours, and work-related hospitalizations and amputations within 24 hours.

  • Blog

    U.K. First in EU to Implement Tougher Transparency Rules for Extractives

    2015-01-07T11:30:00Z

    Image: Jan. 8—The new year brought tougher transparency rules for listed European Union firms in the extractives and logging sectors, as the United Kingdom became the first to implement a new transparency directive ahead of the July deadline. Now oil, gas, and mining firms are required to prepare annually a ...